


Of the Heart and Mind

by dreamkist



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tam Lin & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Tale Style, Loneliness, M/M, Rough Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 13:02:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21623797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamkist/pseuds/dreamkist
Summary: Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, inventor, was on the verge of creating artificial intelligence.  In his research he had found stories that mentioned a magical stone that could bend and shape the fabric of the mind.  It was rumored to be hidden in the country of Sokovia.  The stone was the missing piece for his work.  He only had to find it, and then his artificial intelligence would be complete.He finds something else instead.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49
Collections: Marvel Trumps Hate 2018, Tony Stark Steve Rogers





	Of the Heart and Mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scifigrl47](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifigrl47/gifts).

> Thank you [Meatball42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42), [athletiger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/athletiger), and [Narutaisho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narutaisho) for the support!
> 
> * * *

Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, inventor, was on the verge of creating artificial intelligence. In his research he had found stories that mentioned a magical stone that could bend and shape the fabric of the mind. It was rumored to be hidden in the country of Sokovia. The stone was the missing piece for his work. He only had to find it, and then his artificial intelligence would be complete.

“A certain Baron von Strucker reputedly has the stone, and he keeps it safe within a small compound,” Tony explained to his butler, Jarvis, while he tinkered with one of his creations.

“Sir,” Jarvis said, “you shouldn't be going alone. This is incredibly dangerous.”

“I'll have protection,” he gestured to the collection of weapons and tools on the table. He had created all of them and had faith in his skill. “This is necessary Jarvis. The stone will revolutionize _everything_.”

“Do be careful if you must go,” Jarvis finally conceded in the face of Tony’s optimism. It was good to see him enlivened by a new goal.

“When am I not?”

“Shall I answer that, sir?”

“No. Please don't.”

Outside Novi Grad, Sokovia's capital, Tony drove into the center of a small village located below the mountain. Not the quaint, friendly kind of village you want to visit. More the suspicious-of-outsiders kind. He locked the rental car and walked over to a bakery where some locals were gathered.

He ordered a pastry and sat down by an older man. “Lovely place. Do you speak English?”

The man glanced at him and gruffly said, “A little.”

Tony tried to find out more about the compound, but the man wasn’t interested in sharing any information.

His parting words before he stood up and left were, “You cannot go there. It is protected.”

“Cryptic,” Tony said to no one. Then a woman appeared beside him, she almost made him jump, “Geeze, where did you come from?”

“That is not a good place you are wanting to go. It is protected,” she said. The same words the man had used.

“Protected by what? Guards?”

The woman shook her head and walked away without answering. 

Tony drove to a nearby hill and dug his binoculars out of his backpack to scan the rocky terrain for a sign of the compound. He found it situated low on the side of the mountain with trees surrounding it. The main building was old, built of stone, and weathered. A gloomy place.

He didn't see any people stationed outside; the people he had spoken to were probably trying to scare him off, and he was determined. He could handle a few guards with his repulsor gun and localized EMP devices. He marveled at the hubris someone would need to have to think only a few people could protect something like the mind stone.

Tony made his way through the trees toward the compound. Thick brambles of roses lent their dusky scent to the air and their thorns clawed at his clothes.

After a while, he began to get the feeling that he was being watched. He scanned the trees but didn’t see anyone. He noticed a stake in the ground ahead of him and walked toward it.

As he neared it a man stepped out from behind a tree. He was tall and broad-shouldered with a dark beard. Tony was immediately captivated. There was something about the way the man moved, confident and strong, and he was gorgeous. He unconsciously walked closer and saw the man had blue eyes. Then he noticed the frown. He stepped back as some sense returned to him.

The man disappeared as quickly as he'd arrived. Tony was confused and curious. He decided to go back to the city for the night to regroup.

Tony dreamed about blue eyes that night. He woke up and resolved to find the man again. Somehow his mission to find the stone had slipped in importance.

It wasn't hard. It seemed like he had been waiting for Tony when he stepped from behind an old tree.

"Hi," Tony said because all other words escaped him in that moment.

"Hi,” the man responded.

“What brings you here?” Tony asked because jokes were clearly the way to go in this situation.

“I’m the guardian.” He cast his eyes down to the stake in the ground. “I live here.”

“In the woods?”

He nodded.

“You don't have a house somewhere?”

“No.” 

“Well, I’m Tony. What’s your name?”

The man took a moment to answer, “Steve.”

“How did you get here? You don't sound like you're a local.”

"I was a soldier. It’s hard to remember…" he trailed off and seemed to go somewhere else in his head. “I went down with the plane. I was captured. I was lost until Strucker found me. He got me out, brought me here. I think I’ve been here for years.”

He sounded so lost it hurt Tony to hear it.

“He makes me hurt people.” It was a quiet confession, barely a whisper, and it tore at Tony’s heart. “That’s what the stone does—it controls minds.”

Tony nodded in understanding.

“That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?” Steve asked, present once more. “You look cold,” he added before leaving Tony alone once again.

As Tony drove back to the city, he swore he would find a way to free Steve. He might have just met him, but there was something about Steve that made him feel protective. The mind stone had somehow lost its importance in the face of the other man’s suffering.

Tony retraced the route to the same place where he had met Steve, and Steve was waiting there for him. Tony felt some relief, he had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to find him in the woods again.

He was drawn to the man and felt himself take a step forward. “I'm going to cross over the boundary.”

“Don't do it. I don't want to hurt you. I can't stop it, no matter how hard I try.”

Tony could see he was nervous, but he needed to test this. “I think you can control it.”

“If you come any closer…” he trailed off. It was his final warning to Tony.

Tony took one brave—or possibly stupid—step up to the stake in the ground. Nothing happened so he stepped past it. “See? It’s fine.” He wasn’t going to admit he was slightly relieved; the sliver of doubt he had ignored disappeared.

Then Steve clenched his fists.

They looked at each other. “Steve?” He was obviously having an internal struggle. Tony quickly lost the sense of relief he had felt, and it was replaced with fear. Steve may have been nice, but he was also bigger than Tony and could do some damage. Tony didn’t want to have to shoot him, lethal or not.

“I can't do it,” Steve said through clenched teeth.

Tony felt fear course through his body, and he abruptly found himself on his back. Steve loomed over him. He still seemed to be fighting the power that was trying to control him, Tony was glad to see even though he was definitely afraid at that point.

He was shocked even further when Steve roughly flipped him over to his front. A tree root scratched Tony’s face, and he saw how the roses twisted around themselves in front of him. He felt cold air on his skin as his pants and underwear were pulled down, and Tony’s brain caught up to the situation. His breath quickened. “Redirection. That’s good,” he said even though Steve probably wasn’t aware of it.

Truth be told, Tony was ok with the direction the situation was taking—it was certainly better than being killed in the middle of nowhere after being warned about the danger. And, he had to admit, Steve was not unattractive. He was brought back to the matter at hand when Steve roughly bit his ass and spread him open. Steve pushed his tongue in, and it was dirty, and it was good. Then the mouth was gone, and Tony realized how exposed he was.

Tony grasped at the roots in front of him as Steve’s cock pressed into him. It hurt, and he groaned while he felt the wet blood from the cut trickle down his jaw. He wasn’t sure how long it took, but his body eased into it. He began to feel pleasure. He worked one hand underneath himself and let the motions of the man above him do most of the work. He spilled onto the ground as Steve continued his violent thrusts.

Steve snapped his hips and shouted as he came. He slumped over Tony and stayed inside him.

“Better?” Tony asked when he heard Steve’s breathing slow down.

Steve stumbled back, and Tony rolled over. He saw the horrified look on Steve’s face before he turned and ran away.

“No, it's-” Tony tried to say, but Steve was already gone. Tony wanted to reassure him, tell him he had no reason to regret what had happened, but it was too late.

Tony’s room in the city was dark and quiet. He caught a glimpse of the bite mark Steve had left behind on his ass. He liked the look of it. He was sore but more worried about Steve than anything else. In the morning he would get dressed and get his weapons ready. It was time to save Steve.

The compound was empty.

He had driven right through the gates, sent them crashing off their hinges. His dramatic entrance had been thwarted by the lack of audience. He quickly searched through the main building but there was no one there. Tony went outside and got back in the slightly damaged rental.

He began to drive back toward the village when he stopped at a crossroads. He tried to come up with a plan for finding out where Strucker could have gone. Where he had taken Steve. He could call Jarvis, who would remind him this had been a bad idea, or he could try to find out where they went from people in the village. They weren’t going to help him.

When he was about to hit the steering wheel in frustration, a dark SUV sped by, and even though the windows were tinted, he knew Steve was inside it. He could feel it. He was so focused on the SUV that contained Steve, he missed the one that rammed into his car.

Tony’s head hurt. He woke up in a large room. He was propped against a wall, and his hands were tied in front of him.

“What do you think you are doing? Playing with what is mine.” It was Strucker.

Steve was on his knees and a small group of Strucker’s thugs surrounded him. Strucker dipped his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out what could only be the mind stone. He held it toward Steve and said, “Kill him.”

Steve got to his feet and advanced toward Tony who pulled at his restraints. He couldn’t get out. “Steve-”

But Steve lifted him to his feet, and Tony saw that his eyes were blank. Strong hands closed around Tony’s throat and squeezed. He stared into Steve’s eyes and silently pleaded. As the world began to go dark, Steve dropped him, and Tony slid down the wall.

Tony faded into unconsciousness, but not before he saw Strucker’s pleased look quickly dissolve into fear.

Tony regained consciousness and he was still on the floor of the same room. He saw the bodies of the guards and Strucker scattered around, and Steve was hunched in on himself in the middle of them. Tony slowly stood up, careful on shaky legs, and made his way over to Steve. He took his coat off and wrapped it around Steve because he was shaking from the cold. He knelt down on the floor and held him.

“Sometimes I think the cold is never going to leave me,” Steve whispered into Tony’s shoulder.

Tony wanted to shiver from more than the cold. His heart was trying to break for Steve, but he told himself he would help this man and would do everything in his power to make it all right.

“You’re ok,” Tony said, “I’m getting you out of here.”

On the jet, Steve sat quietly. He stared out the window with a frown on his face. He was clean and dressed in clothes Tony had found for him, but he had avoided looking at Tony since they left the room and the bodies behind.

Tony sat down across from him. “Hey,” he said.

Steve gathered up his courage and met Tony’s gaze. “Forgive me,” he said.

“Already done,” Tony said simply.

Steve looked like he wanted to argue, but he wisely changed the subject. “What are you going to do with it?” He meant the stone, of course.

“We'll hide it where no one will find it.”

“You’re not going to use it?” There was a touch of doubt to his words.

“It’s too dangerous,” he said it with finality. He saw the relief on Steve’s face as he accepted the words.

“I hope you like New York,” Tony said to change the subject.

“I’m from New York,” Steve replied.

“Well, I’ve got a lot to learn about you, don’t I?”

“You don't have to do this. I can make it on my own.”

“You’re right. I don't have to do this. But I want to. I want to take care of you.” The words were open and honest, and usually that would have been uncomfortable for him, but Steve made it feel right. “If that’s ok with you, of course.”

Steve was silent for a moment then he graced Tony with a warm smile. “I think I’d like that.”

Tony felt his heart leap. To hide the ridiculous grin that threatened to break out on his face, he moved to sit beside Steve. Somehow, they managed to hold each other’s hand for the rest of the flight.


End file.
